


Losses and additions

by Martialis



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 05:56:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14254452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Martialis/pseuds/Martialis
Summary: As Scott is in a coma, Team Pathfinder needs a new recon specialist. There is more to the crew's newest addition than the eye can see.Awful summary, but stick around. Eventual Sara/Suvi.





	Losses and additions

**Author's Note:**

> Might turn this into a series, but I am quite busy with school at the moment. We'll see how this turns out. ^_^

Sara rushed to the office where Director Tann was waiting for her. She had just come back from a mission, still buzzing from the adrenaline. It was supposed to be an easy escort task, bring the diplomat from A to B, when they got ambushed by assassins. The new pathfinder was still getting used to her role. There were days when she would wake up, thinking it was all a dream-- No, a nightmare.

The doors flew open to reveal Tann sitting in a chair, gesturing for Sara to enter. "Please, sit down, Pathfinder Ryder."

"Pleasure to see you again, Director."

The words rolled out with some unintentional sarcasm in her tone. She really didn't want to speak with Tann. The burdens of a Pathfinder, she thought.

"I want to speak with you about your crew."

"There is nothing wrong with my crew. I have everything under control." Sara practically hissed. Since her fathers' death she had worked so hard to be the pathfinder the people were promised. She was not going to let some glorified director scold her.

"Please listen before you make assumptions. Since Scott is in a coma, you need a new Recon Specialist."

"We don't have the time to run tests on someone, and we are doing just fine without a Recon Specialist anyways."

"No Sara, you are not doing just fine." Tann didn't raise his voice but his harsh tone had the same impact. Sara flinched as Tann continued speaking. "You just got ambushed by assassins. That could have been completely avoided if you had a Recon Specialist with you."

"What do you want me to do?! Run a talent show? We have to leave this planet in 5 days!"

"I believe I have found a suitable candidate. He is in probation but-"

Sara slammed her fist to the table "Probation?! You think some probational soldier can replace Scott?!"

"As I was saying, he is in probation but one of the strongest biotics and best marksmen we have."

"I will not babysit some idiot who thinks he can replace Scott."

"You need a Recon Specialist. This is your only option."

"Are you listening?! Do I even get a say in this?!"

"If you were thinking rationally, you would. But anyone who thinks rationally would agree with me."

Sara leant closer to Tann and spoke through gritted teeth. Anger clearly visible on every inch of her body. "Then why the fuck did you bother to call me here?"

"To politely announce the new addition to your crew." Tann just sat in his chair as if nothing was going on. Casually, not like him at all. He was mocking her.

"Politely my arse." Sara stood up. She turned on her heels and stormed out of the office back to the Tempest.

"Eveyone to the meeting room in 5 minutes. It's urgent."

Sara was pacing back and forth as her crew one by one filled the room.

"What's going on, Ryder? Your pacing is freaking me out." Her second in command said. All crewmembers looked at Sara with concern as they had never seen her like this before.

 "Tann just assigned us a new Recon Specialist. But guess what? He's on probation. He thinks some punk who got himself in probation can replace Scott? He is mocking him! He is mocking me! And I didn't even get a say in any of it!" Sara begun calmly but raised her voice the more worked up she got.

Vetra approached her calmly. "Let's meet the new kid first. Because this." Vetra pointed at Ryder and then waved her hands around. "Is not going to help."

"You're right, I have to calm down. Anyways. You guys can expect a visitor soon. I want a bed in the crew's quarters prepared. That's all."  
Sara slumped off, clearly looking disappointed. She wasn't even angry anymore.

.

Suvi walked through the corridors when she heard sniffles coming from the Pathfinders' quarters. She quickened her pace and found herself standing infront of an opened door. Sara hadn't even bothered to close it. She was just sitting there with her back to the opening, clearly crying.

"Hey. It's okay, Sara..." Suvi slowly stepped into the room, waiting for a reaction from Sara. She didn't get one. "Let's close this door for a bit, okay? SAM?" 

SAM did as she asked and closed the door. She dropped on the floor next to Sara and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"It's all going to be okay."

Sara finally raised her head to look at Suvi.

"I just feel so insulted that Tann thinks Scott has the skill of a soldier in probation. Before I became Pathfinder I was supposed to be a Recon Specialist aswell. I just felt like crap. Like I would have been as worthy as someone in probation if it wasn't for my father's death. I let my emotions cloud me and now I made a fool of myself infront of the crew."

"You didn't make a fool of yourself. We all had a hard time adjusting but everyone understands it's been even worse for you. I'm sure no one blames you for that outburst."

"I'm not supposed to have outbursts, or cry. I'm the pathfinder. I have to be perfect or atleast seem perfect."

"You're the pathfinder of the human ark, Sara. Humans have emotions. How can someone who lives like a robot call themselves a representative of humans?"

"How can people put their faith in someone who loses it when someone tells her she's getting a new crewmember?"

"It's about Scott, not the crewmember and you know that damn well, Sara."

"I appreciate the support, but no one can admire someone who is wreck."

"I admire you and I don't think you're a wreck. I would have not stayed as strong as you are, were I in your position."

"You definetly would-"

"You're stronger than you think, Sara." Suvi patted her on the arm fondly and stood up. "Get some rest, it's been a rough day for you."

Sara smiled back at her, weakly, but she smiled. Something about it made Suvi's stomach flutter. It wasn't Sara's usual bashful smile, it was softer, calmer, but still as charming even though she just spent the last minutes crying. 

.

Cora, Vetra, Liam and Lexi were sitting in the crew's quarters drinking some whiskey Vetra had managed to get her hands on. There was not a lot of work to be done by any of them until they would leave, so they decided to take a small break. Even Lexi was enjoying herself. She was backed up by a chorus of "Oooh's" everytime she made a sassy comment or completely roasted someone. You had to give it to her: for someone who could be so uptight she could also be pretty savage.

Suddenly the the group turned their attention to a young guy who entered the quarters. He was looking around, appreciating the environment. He was wearing an Andromeda Initiative hoodie and had a bag swung over his shoulder. The man looked slightly younger than Sara, but he was taller than all of the human crewmembers.

"Is that the new kid?" Liam asked the others even though he knew their guess was as good as his.

"Hey, kid!" Cora yelled at the boy who immediatly walked over to the group. "What do you think you are doing here?"

"My apologies ma'am. I was supposed to meet the Pathfinder but I had time left and my curiosity got the better of me."

"You aren't supposed walk around here unsupervised."

"You aren't supposed to drink during working hours either." The boy deadpanned.

"We have a break and what we are doing is none of your--"

"Relax, Cora." Vetra interrupted. "I suppose you'll need directions to the pathfinders quarters, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll show him." Lexi placed her empty glass on the table. "I should be heading back to the med bay anyways."

Lexi stood up and beckoned for the boy to follow her. He caught up with her and fell in step with her, perfectly in sync. Lexi didn't fail to notice the little quirk. It was a dead giveaway that the boy was with the military, used to marching. No one asked him yet but he had to be the new Recon Specialist.

The boy looked forward but caught Lexi looking at him in the corner of his eyes. She seemed to be analyzing him, sizing him up. "Like what you see?"

Lexi scoffed and ignored the question, she looked forward again and did her best to look offended even though she was a bit flustered that he caught her peeking. Just a little bit. She failed to notice a crowbar that was lying on the ground and tripped. She guarded her face with her arms and prepared for impact, yet it never came. Instead two strong arms stopped her from falling. She looked up to see a smug smile on the boys face. 

"You should have told me you wanted to do a dance routine with me, I would have swept you up. Now you just caught me off guard."

Lexi scoffed. Again. "Dance with you? No thanks."

"You did seem to be distracted by my presence, which I do not blame you for."

"Not nearly as distracted as you think I was. I just wasn't expecting a crowbar on the floor. Who the fuck leaves a crowbar on the floor?" Lexi cleared her throat as she stopped infront of a door. "The pathfinders quarters are in here. I will be on my way to the med bay now. Good luck."

Lexi turned around and walked away wordlessly, releasing a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

"Hey, blue lady! Pleasure meeting you!"

The boy waved at her and had a ridiculous grin on his face. Lexi couldn't help but laugh and wave back. She shook her head as she continued on her way. That guy was going to be a handful.

.

"Pathfinder, someone is standing infront of your quarters."

"Who is it, SAM?"

"I do not know, Pathfinder."

"Let them in."

The door to Sara's quarters flew open. She closed her computer and got up from her desk. In the opening stood the young boy. 

"You're the new Recon Specialist?"

"Aye aye, ma'am. If you decide to keep me atleast."

He had a casual grin on his face, he wasn't nervous at all. Sara took a closer look at him. The boy had beautiful black hair in a neat pompadour haircut but one group of hairstrands stood out. Unlike the rest of his hair it was colored in a shade of red very similar to Suvi's hair.

"Please come in, I do not have any chairs, so we will have to stand I'm afraid."

"No problem, ma'am. I have two legs, you see."

"You might want to put a leash on the comments"

"Understood ma'am."

Now that he was coming closer Sara could see that he had heterochromatic eyes. One was a beautiful steel blue while the other was brown. He was tall and lean but still looked like an athlete. Pretty handsome, she thought, but way too cocky, that's obvious. Sara wasn't a psychologist but Lexi had given her some tips on how to read people. She said it could really help her whenever she had some diplomatic issues to deal with.

"First off, what are your talents and skills? I need to know who and what I am working with here."

"I'm primarily a marksman, ma'am. When the Alliance found out I was gifted with biotics they wanted me to pursue that, but we managed to compromise. I would train with biotics but still study covert operations and tech used by the spec ops."

"You were with the alliance?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Heh, me too. But how did you manage to make such a compromise?"

"I pulled some strings. It was surprisingly easy."

"Huh. Okay." Sara suspected more was going on here, but decided to drop it for now. "I realise now Tann has left me in the dark about some major stuff, like your name and rank."

"Before I got here I was a Sergeant on probation, ma'am."

"A fucking Sergeant." Sara huffed under her breath.

"My name is Sandhog. Sandhog Pearl."

"Are you fucking with me?!"

"Nope."

"Who the fuck names their kid Sandhog?"

"I was an orphan ma'am. The orphanage where I lived was by the sea. I'd always play in the sand and on my first day I found this giant pearl buried there. The other kids started to call me Sandhog and I liked it, so I made it official. When asked for a last name Pearl was the first thing that popped into my head."

"I'm sorry about your parents."

"And I about yours."

"You have no right to talk about my parents."

"Ofcourse, ma'am."

"Look. Just because Tann made you part of my crew doesn't mean I like you, or want you to be here. You are here because you have to be. I see no need for us to dig into personal lives. Scott was supposed to be the Recon Specialist, not you, and I won't forget that."

Sandhog looked taken aback. He did not expect this reaction from Sara. He wanted her to like him, he wanted to be part of the team, but she was putting up a wall against him.

"Go to the crew quarters, Sandhog, introduce yourself to the others. We're done here."

Sara turned back to her desk, opened her datapad and started working again. Sandhog wordlessly walked out of her quarters.

.

Sandhog made his way to the crew quarters. Well, he attempted to but failed miserably. He found himself standing in the galley instead, where 'Blue lady' was sipping on some coffee.

"Hey, you again." He said, the smug smile immediately making its return.

"Are you stalking me?"

"Do I look like a pervert to you?"

A sly smile started to grow on Lexi's face as she opened her mouth to reply but got cut off by Sandhog.

"You know what? Do not answer that. Anyways, I believe we haven't been formally introduced yet, soooo." Sandhog took a few steps closer and stuck out his hand, placing his other arm behind his back. It made him look formal, and that suited him better than that smug grin, Lexi thought. She took his hand and shook it.

"Dr. Lexi T'Perro, Medical Officer. But this one idiot on the ship calls me 'Blue lady'"

"Ouch that hurt." Sandhog chuckled. "Sandhog Pearl, Recon Specialist."

"Sandhog?"

"Ridiculous name, I know, I know."

"Ridiculous name for a ridiculous guy."

"Ouch. Again? Anyways, I should go introduce myself to the rest of the crew and drop my bag off at the quarters. See ya."

Sandhog bolted off, and Vetra came to stand next to Lexi. 

"You seem oddly friendly around him."

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking. You got to admit, he's good on the eyes."

"He's a patient. I do not look at patients that way."

Vetra chuckled "You were looking at him that way before I came here, don't think I didn't notice."

"I was merely analyzing him"

"Sure thing, doc." Vetra replied in her sweetest, most innocent voice.


End file.
